Food Safety Tips For Cooking Delicious Thanksgiving Turkey

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 23: Assistant Chef Joe Breaton carries out a turkey prior to actor Stephen Baldwin serving Thanksgiving dinner to men and women at the New York City Rescue Mission on November 23, 2004 in New York City. (Photo by Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)

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DETROIT (WWJ) – It is the time of year again when celebrity chefs and cooking magazines are advocating the newest trends in cooking a turkey.

Whether you use a tried-and-true recipe or a creative new method, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service wants to help you cook it safely.

Once you choose a recipe, pair these steps with your cooking instructions to prepare a turkey that is both delicious and safe for your family.

“We want to remind consumers that they will reduce their chance of foodborne illness by following four basic steps—clean, separate, cook and chill,” Under Secretary Elisabeth Hagen said in a release.

“A Thanksgiving turkey is only ready to serve to guests when it’s safe—that’s when the thickest part of it has reached 165 °F as measured with a food thermometer. Keeping hands and surfaces clean, separating raw meat from food that will not be cooked, and properly storing leftovers are all steps Americans can take to prevent foodborne illness on Thanksgiving and always.”

One week in advance: Get your turkey ready to cook

Cooks preparing a frozen turkey should make their purchase a few days to a week in advance to allow time for thawing. If you plan to buy a fresh turkey, do not buy it too soon. Fresh, unfrozen poultry should be kept in the refrigerator no more than two days before cooking. This is also a good time to make sure you have a food thermometer for the big day. If not, pick up one at the store when you purchase your turkey.

The optimal place to thaw poultry is in the refrigerator. Leave the frozen bird in its original wrapper and place it on a tray to catch any juices that may leak from the package. Bacteria in meat juices can cross-contaminate other foods that will be eaten without further cooking or that are already cooked, possibly causing foodborne illness. Allow approximately 24 hours of thawing time for every four to five pounds of frozen turkey. Thawed turkey can stay in the refrigerator for one to two days before cooking.

If it is the day before Thanksgiving and your turkey is still in the freezer, or if there is no room in the refrigerator for thawing, do not panic! You can thaw your turkey by the cold water method. Submerge the turkey in a container with enough cold water to cover the bird, and change the water every 30 minutes. Calculate 30 minutes per pound of turkey for thawing time.

As a last resort, cook your turkey from the frozen state. It will thaw and cook in one step, but it will require 50 percent additional cooking time. The drawback: you cannot stuff a frozen bird.

One to two days in advance: Pick your stuffing method

Turkey’s most constant accompaniment, stuffing, requires the same food safety caution in its preparation as the bird itself. Bread stuffing, stuffing made from cornbread or rice, stuffing cooked inside the bird or browned in a casserole, or any other variation that your family likes is safest when prepared just before cooking. The dry and wet ingredients for stuffing can be prepared separately ahead of time and chilled, but not mixed until time to cook. The stuffing should be moist, not dry, because heat destroys bacteria more rapidly in a moist environment.

Baking stuffing outside the turkey in a casserole dish is the safest method and provides busy cooks with more flexibility to prepare ahead. If you do not plan to stuff your turkey, it is safe to prepare and immediately freeze or bake the mixture. Never stuff poultry with frozen or pre-cooked stuffing! When needed, cook frozen stuffing directly from the frozen state without thawing first, and heat frozen or pre-baked stuffing to a safe internal temperature of 165 °F before serving.

Thanksgiving Day: Heat it up

Place your raw bird, stuffed or unstuffed, in a preheated oven set to 325 °F or higher. The turkey must reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F, as measured with a food thermometer in the innermost part of the thigh, the wing, the thickest part of the breast, and the stuffing in order to destroy bacteria that could be present. Bacteria can survive in turkey or stuffing—whether cooked inside or outside the bird—that has not reached 165 °F, and it may cause foodborne illness.

All turkey meat, including any that remains pink, is safe to eat as soon as all parts reach at least 165 °F. For personal preference, cooks may choose to cook it to higher temperatures. When a whole, stuffed turkey is removed from the oven, let it stand 20 minutes before removing the stuffing and carving the bird. This step allows for easier carving.

Right after dinner: “Chill out” immediately

After dinner is a wonderful time to relax with guests, but busy cooks should not “chill” until the leftovers do. Bacteria spread fastest at temperatures between 40 °F and 140 °F, so quickly chilling food after a meal reduces the risk of foodborne illness.

After Thanksgiving dinner, cut the leftover turkey into small pieces. Place the stuffing and meat into shallow containers and refrigerate (40 °F or below) or freeze (0 °F or below) the poultry and stuffing within two hours after cooking. Use refrigerated leftovers within three to four days, or freeze them. Reheat leftovers to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F or until hot and steaming.

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